The Luxe List 2017: 137 Pillars Suites & Residences

137 Pillars Suites is one of the latest arrivals on Bangkok’s hospitality scene, but its history runs deeper than most hotels in the capital.

Nimitr restaurant—which, being at the forefront of modern Thai cuisine, draws a crowd of its own.

Taking up the top eight floors of a brand-new, 35-story skyscraper in upscale Thonglor, 137 Pillars Suites is one of the latest arrivals on Bangkok’s hospitality scene, but its history runs deeper than most hotels in the capital. Its sister property, 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, is a suave reinvention of a teakwood mansion that was once part of the East Borneo Trading Company’s northern headquarters, and careful details in the Bangkok outpost recall this 19th-century heritage. Each of the 34 high-ceilinged suites, which start from 64 square meters, comes with a balcony and rocking chair; Jack Bain’s Bar is gentlemanly with dark leathers, gilt, and old black-and-white photographs of its namesake Trading Company manager; and Louis Leonowens, who established the original Chiang Mai office, has his lady-killing ways immortalized in an old London cab named Louie that woos guests with champagne as they’re chauffeured around town. Despite its high-rise confines, 137 Pillars manages to pack in a golfing green and pro shop on the fourth-floor terrace, a Japanese hair salon that’s separate from the organic spa, and two infinity pools: one underneath Nimitr restaurant—which, being at the forefront of modern Thai cuisine, draws a crowd of its own—and the other on the roof with cabanas that look out over the city.

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